Now We're Even
by Team Damon
Summary: At a bar one night in New York City, a newly single young woman runs into an acquaintance who's there to drown his sorrows for the very same reason she is. They don't know each other very well, but considering their significant others both cheated on them - with each other - a little bonding over drinks might be just what they both need. Bucky/OC, modern AU oneshot


**A/N: heyyyy everyone! So the idea for this oneshot came to me as I was driving the other day, thanks to a country song that came on the radio (ugh lol), and despite the fact that I have no less than four unfinished documents currently staring rather judgmentally at me, I decided to go ahead and crank this out (priorties? What are those?). I don't plan on doing any follow ups to this - if you guys saw my frighteningly long list of fics on the horizon, you'd know why - but I gotta say, this was the most fun thing I've written in ages. I absolutely loved working on this, and I hope you guys like it, as random as it is :D please leave a review and let me know what you think! And thanks as always to midnightwings96 for always being there and humoring my rather lacking attention span and being just the best person ever. I love you all, and I hope you guys enjoy! (P.S. I will give free bonus e-cookies (in other words, absolutely nothing lol) to anyone who can guess which song this story is based on lol)**

Of all the bars in the city that Summer would have ordinarily chosen to drown her sorrows in, this one was probably the very last. It was in a part of town she never ventured to and their drinks were overpriced considering how dingy the place was, plus the bartender smelled like bleu cheese dressing even though there wasn't a single drop to be found in the whole building. But none of her friends ever frequented the place, so that was why she chose to crawl in there one night with what was left of her dignity and open a tab for her and her alone.

Sitting at the bar and staring rather forlornly at her second rum and coke, Summer sighed and leaned on her hand as the previous week's events swirled through her head. It had been a hellish week, to say the least, complete with humiliation, discoveries of infidelity, and a very public ejection of her now-ex's things from their shared apartment. Five years had gone pitifully down the drain in just a matter of days, though if she was being honest, those five years hadn't been that great anyway. But she at least had thought that they'd _meant_ something. Apparently she had been wrong.

It wasn't even the typical discovery through a text message she wasn't meant to read or stories not adding up, or a confession. No, instead, her best friend had been out dancing at a club with her fiancé when a trip to the ladies' room revealed none other than Summer's longtime boyfriend Mark and another woman hooking up in one of the stalls. It was so incredibly trashy and gross, and word had spread to all of their friends like wildfire. That was where the humiliation part came in.

Summer had only met the other woman once a few months earlier, at a wedding she and Mark had attended together. The woman's name was Olivia - now Summer's most hated name in the world - and the thing was, Summer didn't understand the affair at all. Olivia had a longtime boyfriend herself, whom Summer had also met, and he was gorgeous - much more so than Mark. And yet somehow they had ended up cheating on both of their significant others, and the bathroom incident wasn't the first time, either. Mark had confessed everything before Summer had thrown all of his clothes - and his Xbox - out the window of their fifth story apartment.

At first she had been shocked and had cried nonstop for a few solid hours. Then the anger had come next, which was when she had kicked him out, and following all of _that_ , now she just felt... stupid. She should have seen it coming. She should have kicked him out a long time ago. Cheating was only one of his many flaws as a boyfriend and a human being in general, but she had wanted so badly to make it work for so long. Now she could see that it had never been a true possibility.

Sighing and taking another sip of the rather weak drink, Summer ran a hand through her straight black hair and wondered if she wouldn't have been better off drinking at home alone tonight. But coming here to drink among strangers seemed less pathetic somehow, though that seemed less and less convincing everytime the bartender walked by and forced her to breathe through her mouth rather than her nose.

She finished the drink and then signaled for another. It was while the bartender was getting her a refill that someone else came and sat down on the stool next to hers, a man judging by what little she saw out of her peripheral vision. She prayed to God it wasn't some slimy guy who would offer to buy her a drink and pester her until she showed him her bottle of mace in her purse, and luckily, it wasn't. The guy quietly ordered his own drink, a double whiskey on the rocks, and he left Summer alone. _Phew_.

She definitely wasn't in the mood for some drunken hookup with a stranger. She wasn't really in the mood for much of anything, but that was neither here nor there. Hopefully the alcohol would kick in soon and she'd feel a little better.

She was glancing behind her towards a sudden outburst of laughter from a table of strangers when she also accidentally glanced at the guy sitting next to her. She quickly looked away, but then her brows furrowed and she looked back. That was when he looked up from the phone in his hand and looked at her, and they both widened their eyes in sudden recognition.

 _You have got to be kidding me_ , she thought.

Apparently he thought the same thing. He opened his mouth to say something, only to smile humorlessly and blow out a breath. " _Wow_. I... hi."

"Hi," she smiled back, feeling suddenly embarrassed and ridiculously self conscious for some reason. She tended to babble when she got like that, which was probably why she then added, "So I guess this is the new cool hangout for jilted lovers."

"Yeah," he replied, running a hand through the slightly fluffy dark hair on his head. He was dressed in a leather jacket and dark jeans, making both looking pretty damn good. "Damn. Summer, right?"

She nodded, giving a hollow smile. "Yeah." His name was easy for her to remember. One didn't encounter many _Buckys_ in modern day New York unless they were dogs running around on their owners' leashes in the park.

"Well..." He looked around the bar and then looked back at her. "Looks like we both had the same idea."

"Go to a bar where we're guaranteed not to run into any of our friends so we can be pathetic and drink alone in peace?" she guessed.

He made a clicking sound with his tongue and pointed in affirmation. "That's the plan."

She smiled and turned back to her drink, shaking her head a little bit. "Looks like the universe hates us."

"Well, that's nothing new," he said, reaching for his drink. "Not for me, anyway."

She could only imagine what was all behind that statement, and if her eyes trailed along the defined line of his jaw as he drank, one could hardly blame her. He was, as she had mentioned before, _gorgeous_ , even with a few days' worth of growth and telltale signs of sleeplessness on his face.

One thing was for sure. Had she been Olivia - _stupid, useless, life-ruining Olivia_ \- she wouldn't have cheated on that with Mark. Talk about downgrading.

"So, I take it your week's been as bad as mine?" she asked, not wanting to pry but since they were in the same boat and all, she figured they might as well commiserate.

He huffed out a laugh and nodded. "It's been hell."

"Yeah... same," Summer nodded, staring at her drink so she wasn't staring at him. "But it wasn't all bad. I did enjoy throwing Mark's Xbox out the window."

Bucky turned her way with surprise on his face. "Did you really do that?"

"I did," she grinned. "He didn't think I would. But I did. And it was the best feeling in the world watching it hit the ground and break in little pieces. Better than sex, honestly."

... She hadn't meant to say that. Maybe she was a little buzzed after all.

"Shit," he laughed, running a hand over his face. "That's brutal. I like it. See, I couldn't throw out any of Liv's stuff. Our place was technically hers, so... I'm the one out on my ass now."

"Really? That sucks," Summer sighed.

Bucky gave a shrug, swallowing down another drink. "I'm staying with my friend now. It's okay. I'm better off without all the memories of that place, anyway."

 _That_ Summer could understand. "How long were you guys together?"

He paused before muttering, "We started dating in high school. Split up for awhile when I got deployed, got back together when I came back. Altogether almost six years."

Summer's eyes widened. "Holy crap."

His eyebrows flicked up in silent agreement. "You?"

"Five years," she replied. "Though if you asked me now, I honestly couldn't tell you why."

"Me either," he chuckled, shaking his head. "This wasn't the first time she cheated, either. She did it in high school, but I thought she was different now. Mature. Guess not." He took another drink, finishing the glass and signaling to the bartender. Then he noticed Summer's similarly empty glass and asked, "What are you drinking?"

"Rum and coke, but you don't have to buy me another one," she blushed, but he was hearing none of it.

"Nah, it's fine. I don't mind, and besides, misery loves company and all," he grinned. Then the bartender came over, and Summer's eyes widened when he ordered them both tequila.

"Tequila?!" she squirmed, smiling but cringing at the same time.

"You're not gonna get nearly drunk enough off that shit," Bucky said, gesturing to her two empty glasses. "And after the week we've had, we deserve this, trust me."

She sighed but relented, even when the bartender slid the two new glasses of clear liquid their way, limes on the rims and a salt shaker accompanying them. "The last time I drank tequila I made out with my best friend and passed out in an elevator."

He raised his brows in amusement. "Yeah? Sounds like fun."

"Not the elevator part," she said, picking up the glass and eyeing it like it might sprout fists and punch her in the face.

Then he was holding out his own glass to her in a toast. "To not getting fucked over anymore."

She clinked her glass against his and smiled. "God, I hope so."

Then she drank, and she remembered why she hated tequila so much. She almost gagged once or twice, but she refused to make herself look like an idiot in front of this particular man, at least not like _that_. Besides, she could suck it up and drink it if it meant feeling better and thinking less.

Then her phone buzzed on top of the bar. She set down her glass and peered down at the incoming text, freezing when she saw Mark's name followed by the words _can we talk_?

Bucky noticed her sudden distress. "Everything okay?"

"No," she sighed, staring at the text blankly. "It's Mark, asking if we can talk. Which means he's gonna apologize for the millionth time and ask me to take him back."

Bucky rolled his eyes and groaned. "Fuck."

"I don't know whether to ignore him or tell him to go have sex with a cactus," she said, still staring at the phone.

Beside her, Bucky suddenly paused and then got an idea. "Neither. Here, give me your phone for a minute."

For some reason that she didn't quite grasp, Summer trusted him enough to hand the phone over and ask, "Why?"

He pulled up the camera and then leaned in closer to her, flashing a grin and then telling her, "Smile like you're having a great time."

She blushed a little, partially from his sudden proximity - he smelled really, _really_ good - and then smiled like he'd told her to. He snapped a picture, then leaned away as he pulled up her texts to compose a reply to Mark. He attached the picture of the two of them and then typed, _look who I ran into at the bar_.

He then handed the phone back to her with a grin, giving her the option of sending it or deleting it, but Summer knew there was no real choice there. She loved his little idea, and she hit the send button with a grin on her face. "He's gonna love that."

A few minutes later, the bartender was refilling their now-empty drinks when both of their phones went off at almost the same time. Summer opened her phone to find Mark had replied with, _why the hell are you with him? What's going on_?

She laughed, feeling almost giddy as she showed the text to Bucky, who looked up from his phone to read it. He then grinned and showed her his phone, which displayed a text from Olivia saying, _Can I call you? Where are you? Why are you with her_?

Summer's jaw dropped. "They're together right now."

"Yep," Bucky said, shaking his head and dropping his phone back on the bar. "Let's ignore them. Let them go crazy wondering what we're getting up to."

She liked that idea. She set her phone aside as well and remarked, "I don't know why they even care or why they want to talk. But I also don't understand anything they've done. Like, I don't get why she'd cheat on _you_ with Mark."

He looked at her in mild surprise. "Why?"

Her face immediately reddened. _Oops_. She'd gone and said too much. "Oh, um... I just meant..."

He raised an eyebrow, and a certain twinkle in his unfairly blue eyes gave her the impression that he knew exactly what she was getting at.

"You're... a ten," she finally forced out, giggling a little in the process. "And he's like... a seven. On a good day."

He smiled and chuckled, and if her increasingly drunken eyes weren't playing tricks on her, _he_ blushed a little bit. "I didn't know women used the 1-10 rating thing. Thanks, I uh... I can definitely use the confidence boost after the week I've had."

She blushed more, smiling and looking down. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

His eyes stayed on her, and though she didn't know it, he looked her over rather thoroughly before quietly telling her, "Well, I'd say the same thing for Mark. Don't know why he'd go looking somewhere else when he had a girl like you."

Now it was her turn to look up at him in surprise. "Are you just telling me that because of what I said?"

"Fuck, no," he replied quietly and a little too quickly to be lying, eyes tripping over her lips before moving back up. "No. You're beautiful. And he's a fucking idiot."

... She suddenly felt incredibly warm, and she had a feeling it wasn't just because of the tequila they'd been pouring down their throats. She bit her lip and smiled, knowing he was still watching her, and she blurted out the mildly subject-changing first thought that came to mind. "You know, he's not even a good lover. Mark, I mean."

Bucky blinked and furrowed his brows. "Really?"

Summer shook her head, looking at her drink. "He's... pretty bad, honestly."

Now Bucky was intrigued. "Does he just not last long, or..."

"That, and he just... isn't very good at, um..."

"Getting a woman off?"

Her face went up in flames. "Yeah. That too. So unless he suddenly got good at it just for her, I really don't see what she's even getting out of it."

Bucky laughed humorlessly, dropping his face into his hands and cursing. "What the hell."

"That's what I'm saying," she laughed. "Just... _why_?"

"I have a feeling we could ask that question forever and never get a good answer," Bucky said. "I think they're just pieces of shit and that's the real reason they did what they did."

"Yeah," she sighed, pretty sure that he was on the money. "If only we'd figured that out a long time ago."

"Yeah," he said, finishing his drink. "If only."

"I've got the next round," she announced, waving the bartender down again. Bucky tried to protest, but she wouldn't hear it, and the next thing she knew, they were drinking more and laughing together, their conversation going strong while their phones continued to buzz with ignored texts from their unfaithful exes.

As the alcohol kept flowing, they each began to learn more about the other. Summer told him about her dreams of becoming a published author and her degree in creative writing, and he told her how after two hellish tours overseas, he'd left the Army and was now working at the VA with one of his Army buddies while he figured something else out for a long term career. He was looking into fields where he could utilize his multilingual skills, and when he demonstrated his fluency in Russian and French for her, she had to fight back from audibly whimpering and squirming in her seat.

Both well on their way to being spectacularly drunk, they managed to forget all about what had brought them both to the bar in the first place. Summer found herself laughing more than she had in months, and once Bucky was loosened up and his usual charming self emerged from underneath all of anger and depression that the week had heaped on him, Summer grew ever more mystified as to how the hell any woman in her right mind would cheat on a man like _that_ with a man like Mark. He was funny and foul-mouthed and sexy as hell, and he was one of the best storytellers she'd ever encountered. She hung on his every word, bursting into laughter at the end of each tale he told until her sides hurt.

Then, in the midst of all the unexpected fun, the bartender told them the bar was closing in twenty minutes. They both paused in surprise to find out that they had been talking for nearly _three hours_.

"Shit," Bucky muttered, looking at his phone to confirm the time and then grinning at the _sixteen_ unread text messages. He unlocked the phone and squinted to better his vision, chuckling as he said, "Well, looks like Liv's convinced we're fucking."

Summer choked on the water she was drinking. " _What_?"

Bucky shrugged, setting his phone down and giving her a certain _look_. "We sent him that picture hours ago and haven't answered them since, so..."

Summer blushed, staring at him until an idea suddenly occurred to her. "Ooh! We should totally make them think that!"

"Yeah?" he grinned.

"Yeah!" she all but squeaked, bouncing in her seat a little. Bucky was too drunk not to openly ogle the way her breasts also bounced underneath her top in the process, but she was too far gone to notice. "How can we do that? What should we do? Send them another picture? Say something instead?"

Bucky mulled that over for a moment, glancing at his phone as the wheels turned in his head. "Yeah, see... only problem with that is, I ain't really a fan of lying. Even to pieces of shit."

She visibly deflated. "Oh."

Then he looked up again, a devilish grin gracing his handsome face as his gaze caught hers. "I didn't say we couldn't do it. I just said I didn't wanna _lie_ about it."

To her tequila-riddled brain, those words made absolutely no sense for a solid five seconds. Then she suddenly caught on to what he was subtly suggesting with a gasp. " _Oh_! You mean..."

"You don't have to say yes," he said quickly, holding up his hand before she could ramble herself into a mad spiral. "It's just a thought. You can forget I said anything if you don't wanna, I just..."

"... You'd _want_ to, though?" she asked, genuinely bewildered. When he merely looked at her like she was the one making no sense, she added, "Is... would it be just to get back at them?"

Understanding suddenly dawned on his face. He released a long breath and said, "He really fucked you up, didn't he?"

She didn't know what to say to that. She especially didn't know what to say when he leaned forward a bit, his knee touching hers as he draped an arm over the back of her seat and quietly told her, "Look, I know we don't know each other very well, and we just got out of serious relationships. And yeah, I wanna get back at her. I wanna get back at them both. And that all probably makes this a _really_ bad fucking idea, but trust me, Summer. I wouldn't even entertain the thought if I wasn't attracted to you."

She couldn't remember the last time such a simple statement had made her feel so good about herself. Maybe it was the alcohol or him or just all of it, but regardless, all she could manage was a quiet, "You are?"

He grinned, briefly biting his lip. "I can show you if you feel like making a mistake and getting even tonight."

 _That_ made her smile and blush with the heat of a thousand suns. The truth was, she liked the way that he made her feel. He was funny and charming and _disgustingly_ hot, and the fact that he was genuinely attracted to her and offering her the chance to help him get even with their exes... and possibly actually fully _enjoy_ having sex for the first time in, well, _forever_...

"Okay," she decided, giving him a shy smile.

His face lit up. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "Let's do it."

Maybe it was just due to how drunk she was and her sense of time was skewed, but he had their bill paid and the two of them in a cab in what _had_ to be record time.

His friend and roommate Steve was staying at his girlfriend Peggy's apartment that night, so Summer agreed to go back to his place. Her heart was pounding and her blood pumping in anticipation, and it only got worse when he pulled her tight against his side in the cab and held up his phone to snap another picture.

This time, he pressed his lips to her cheek in a sweet little kiss, and her resulting wide smile and giggle made an adorable picture. He showed it to her before he sent it to Olivia, no caption or explanation necessary, and both of their phones began blowing up all over again almost immediately. She could hardly care, though, too busy enjoying the way that her cheek was still tingling from his one innocent touch and the way that he felt pressed to her side. He was warm and firm, his scent still intoxicating, and just the thought of what they were going to be doing once they got to his place was enough to make her nearly tremble with excitement.

Once they arrived in front of the right apartment complex, Bucky paid the fare and then helped her out of the car. They both stumbled a little as a result, laughing and managing to stay on their feet partially thanks to their clasped hands as they made their way inside the building.

Laughter and more stumbling followed, and Bucky had a particularly difficult time getting his key in the door, but eventually they finally made their way inside. He flipped on the lights and ushered Summer into the apartment first, telling her, "I'd say welcome to my humble abode, but this ain't really my abode, so..."

She giggled, watching him walk inside and shed the black leather jacket he'd had on all night. Underneath was just a simple dark blue t-shirt that matched his well-fitted dark jeans, and _damn_ did he pull off both.

He watched her stare at him with an amused little smile before he asked, "Can I get you a drink?"

Her eyes snapped up and she blushed with embarrassment at having been caught ogling him. "Oh! Yeah. Yeah, thanks."

He chuckled. "I think the only options are beer, vodka, orange juice, or water."

Summer mulled those choices over before she suddenly brightened up and exclaimed, "Screwdriver!" His eyes widened very briefly at the sheer volume of her voice, leading her to clamp her hand down over her mouth and giggle. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually this loud, but..."

"Oh, it's okay," he winked at her, turning to enter the kitchen. "You can be as loud as you want, doll."

Blushing furiously at the innuendo, Summer bit her lip and felt her stomach doing all sorts of crazy things in response. He merely smirked at her and then left to go fix their drinks, telling her to make herself at home in the meantime.

She walked to the adjoining living room, small but cozy and charming in its simplicity. There was art on the walls and books lining a few shelves, but her attention was drawn to some framed pictures on a small mantle behind the couch.

She recognized Bucky in a few of them, even through her slightly double vision, at the side of a tall blonde man whom she assumed was Steve. There was a photo of them as kids, one as adults in their Army uniforms, and another of them and a few others in a group picture that looked like it was taken at a birthday party. Then there was a picture of Steve with an unbelievably beautiful woman, and Summer stared at the couple in awe until she felt something cold being pressed into her hand.

"That's Peggy, Steve's girl," Bucky said, having placed her drink in her hand as he came to stand at her side.

"She's _gorgeous_ ," Summer raved. "They both are."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Bucky chuckled, sitting down on the couch and then patting the space next to him in an open invitation. She blushed and followed his lead, sitting down next to him and sipping the drink, leaving more space between them than was necessary.

This was where things ran the risk of getting awkward, or one of them changing their minds. But thankfully, no such thing happened.

"So let me ask you something," Bucky said, shifting and angling his body towards hers so that he faced her more fully. "Can I?"

She nodded, still sipping the drink. "Yeah."

"... He's really that bad of a lover?"

Summer laughed a bit breathlessly, lowering the drink to her lap as she nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately. I wasn't exaggerating or anything."

Bucky grimaced and then shook his head. "I'm just trying to fathom five years with someone who's shit in bed. How did you not lose your mind?"

"... I'm not really sure," Summer admitted, shrugging. "I guess I got used to it."

Bucky frowned and shook his head again, as if he sound such a concept personally offensive. "I mean... I thought me and Liv had at least _that_ figured out, even if we fought about almost everything else. But I guess I was wrong if she wanted to go out and fuck other guys."

"I think cheaters just... cheat for the sake of cheating," Summer replied. "Or she's just blind. And stupid."

Bucky smirked at that. "Blind and stupid, huh?"

"If she's gonna bang Mark in a dirty public bathroom instead of you in a bed, yeah," Summer nodded. "I mean, you're like the prettiest guy I've ever seen in real life, so..."

His smile grew as her blush deepened. "You're definitely drunk."

"No!" She exclaimed, unaware of how she was drawing naturally closer to him as she spoke. "I mean, I _am_ drunk, but I mean that! When I met you at that wedding, I almost had a heart attack. Like, you're so hot it makes me want to just... slap you."

He raised his eyebrows suggestively and grinned, "Kinky. I like it."

Cheeks burning, Summer brought a palm to her face and groaned. "Oh man, I need to shut up."

"No, no, go on, please," he chuckled, playfully nudging her leg with his. "But just so you know, slapping isn't really my thing. I'm more into... biting and hair pulling. Things like that."

A rush of heat washed over her at those words, and she found herself at a loss for words. All she managed to reply with was a shy smile and a regrettably squeaky, "Oh."

He bit his lip as he grinned - he did that a lot, she noticed - and then he leaned forward and placed his drink on the small coffee table in front of them. Then, to her surprise, he took her drink from her hands and put it next to his, and all of a sudden he was a _lot_ closer.

"You still want this?" he asked, putting a hand on her leg just below her knee. It was a casual, innocent touch, and the denim of her jeans was in the way but it still made her skin sing with growing anticipation.

She nodded, feeling like she might explode if she looked him the eye for too long. She focused on his lips instead, murmuring, "Yeah, I'm just..."

"Nervous?" he guessed, hand running soothingly up her knee. "Shy? Worried you're making a mistake?"

She shook her head. "Not the last one. At least, I don't think I'm making a mistake. Maybe I am - maybe we both are, but... I don't really care."

His hand left her knee to tip her chin up and gently nudge her into meeting his gaze. "Me either," he replied lowly. "Look at me, doll."

She blushed harder and softly giggled, "I like it when you call me that."

"Yeah?" he smiled, brushing his fingers softly over her very pink cheek. "I like it when you blush. And you've got a beautiful smile."

She sighed, closing her eyes and enjoying the soft touch of his hand and hoping he meant everything he was saying. She accidentally voiced that thought out loud, not knowing she had until he answered it.

"I do," he said, low and sincere, threading his fingers in her hair. "Come here, Summer. Let me show you."

He gently tugged her closer, and then his perfect lips were finally on hers. It was a soft, slow kiss, not at all the sloppy drunk thing that she might have expected, and it was perfect. He kissed her like he meant it, like he truly wanted to and wasn't just using her for their mutual revenge, and _God_ did it feel good.

She whimpered when he pulled away, chasing after his lips as they left hers. He chuckled as his other arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer. "Impatient?"

"Yeah," she admitted with no qualms, and then before she knew it, her hands were buried in his hair and his mouth was on hers again, and they were _really_ kissing this time. Feeling like her entire body came to life with just his kiss alone, she had no hope of resisting or even once thinking twice about her decision. It was already the single best kiss of her life, of that she had no doubt, and just like that she was hooked. And judging by the low moan she swallowed the first time their tongues brushed together, the feeling was mutual.

The minute she heard that sound, it was like a switch flipped within her. She climbed on his lap, lips still locked with his and her hands moving to his shoulders, and he deepened the kiss even further as he gripped her hips and pulled her fully down against him. She ran her hands over his chest through his shirt, almost whimpering at how hard and hot he felt under her fingertips. She'd never been with a man like him, not even close, and the way that he held her and kissed her was so incredibly different from what she was used to. There was a passion and a confidence in his touch, and he was so _different_ and _new_ and she could already hardly stand it.

It only got worse as he broke the kiss just to trail his lips down her neck, kissing softly along her skin and looking for the right spots that would make her breath hitch. Once he found one he began utterly torturing it, sucking and grazing it with his teeth, licking over every little bite that he left all while his hands crept up her sides under her shirt, and she was already a wreck on top of him.

When he pulled away, leaving a dark little bruise for all the world to see in his wake, he grinned and lifted his eyes to hers. She was breathing hard, one hand in his hair and the other curled in a fist on his shirt, and he couldn't help but growl, " _God_ , you're hot."

Blushing hard at those words - words she wasn't used to hearing, especially not _growled_ \- she smiled and moaned when his lips pressed back to hers. The heat between them was growing and she could feel it in his kiss and the increasing hardness underneath her, and then seemingly out of nowhere she was giggling breathlessly against his mouth as he stood up and she scrambled to hold on to him.

Arms and legs clinging to him for dear life, the room spun alarmingly quickly as he kissed her sloppily and walked them to his bedroom. He stumbled a few times on the way, accidentally crashing them into the hallway wall next to his door. They both laughed as he righted himself and then took them in his room, smacking the door shut with his back before slamming her into the wall - on purpose this time.

Pressed fully against her like that and grinding their hips together, Summer gasped a little and grinned as he kissed her and murmured, "Too many fucking clothes in the way."

She opened her mouth to answer but just ended up giggling again as he turned them around, walking them the short distance to his bed and dropping her on it. She sat on the edge and looked up at him, both of them wearing almost silly smiles, and then it was a race to get undressed as fast as they could.

He took off his shirt first, her eyes gluing themselves to the broad and defined torso that was revealed to her. He kicked off his shoes as he worked on his jeans, and she watched in such a stupor that she forgot to take any of her own clothes off. But one could hardly blame her - he was, in her eyes, nothing short of perfection, and the kind of man she'd never thought she would ever get to spend a night with.

Their mutual breakups clearly had their benefits.

Once he was down to just black boxer briefs that left very little to the imagination, he grinned and stepped in front of her and knelt down. It was when his face came into view that she realized with a new flush where she'd been previously staring and nearly drooling.

He seemed to think she was adorable, though, smiling at her and pulling her shoes off one at a time. "Still with me, doll?"

There was that pet name again. "Yeah," she smiled, watching him drop the shoes to the floor and then lean up take the hem of her shirt between his fingers. "Sorry. Uh... got distracted."

He hummed in amusement and gently pulled her shirt up and over her head. "Can't imagine why."

The cool air hitting her newly bare skin, she barely had a chance to open her eyes before his lips were on her collarbone, wreaking the same havoc they'd left on her neck. He trailed his mouth down slowly, one hand smoothly unclasping her bra, and when he drew his lips away and pulled the bra off of her, he let out a faint grown and a curse before spending a few wonderful moments devoting all of his attention to her breasts.

She was going to lose her mind. Just the sight of his face pressed so close to her body, lips kissing every inch of each breast and tongue teasing and making hot little shivers shoot down her spine, was all driving her insane. He knew what he was doing, and he seemed to _love_ it. She'd always felt as if her breasts were too big, too cumbersome, not in proportion with the rest of her body, but when his hands and mouth were on them and little hungry sounds were escaping his throat with every new kiss and lick, she couldn't help but be completely happy with them for once in her life.

He pulled away with a low growl and the slightest graze of his teeth, bringing out a moan from her that she couldn't stop. Then he pushed her down on her back, her legs still dangling off the bed, and he placed a hot, open mouthed kiss to her lips as his hands went to her jeans and began to tug. He broke the kiss to draw back and peel the jeans down her legs, taking her panties with them, and on their way off, there was a loud plunk to the floor. It was her phone, falling out of her back pocket to the carpet below.

He tossed the jeans down and picked up the phone, throwing it carelessly somewhere near the top of the bed and then lowering himself down on the mattress on top of her. She slid up towards the pillows, reaching up and pulling him down for a hungry but all too brief kiss before he pulled away just enough to look over her entire body, propped up on his hands and taking his time in looking her over _everywhere_.

" _Fuck_ ," he groaned, nudging her legs apart with his knee so he could settle between them. Then he brought his eyes back to hers and kissed her, tongue briefly tangling with hers as his hips ground against hers, searching for friction and finding enough to make him moan a little and break away. His lips found her neck again, zeroing in on all her most sensitive spots as if he already had them memorized, and she didn't realize she had scratched her nails somewhat deeply across the back of his shoulder until he groaned and rocked his hips harder in response.

"Tell me," he said, lips near her ear as he trailed his hand down her side, "when was the last time he got you off?"

Face flushing with slight embarrassment, she shook her head and muttered, "I... he doesn't. I... just... do it myself."

His eyes widened in disbelief, then darkened with determination and desire. His hand slid over her thigh, fingers inching up between them and brushing softly through the wetness that he was responsible for, and as she shivered he told her, "Well, that ain't how I work, baby."

As if to prove his words, his fingers began to gently toy with her, making her sigh and her eyes flutter shut. He watched her face for a moment before he lowered his lips to her jaw, beginning a slow and thorough trail down her body punctuated by what his fingers were doing to her further down.

His mouth back on her breast, tongue swirling and teasing the same way his fingers were, it was almost enough on its own to make her see stars. He peeked up at her as his mouth trailed further down, pulling his hand away and making her whimper with disappointment.

He simply chuckled and slid down, lips traveling over her hipbone as he pulled a leg over his shoulder and gave her a devilish look. "Don't worry, doll. I only stopped 'cause I wanted to do _this_ to you instead."

 _That_ was when she shuddered and made a noise she'd never heard herself make before, because suddenly his mouth was _there_ and it was hot and wet and everything she wasn't used to. He started slow, his experience and skill shining through as he worked her up but didn't overwhelm her or rush her through the act. She couldn't stay quiet or stay still, squirming and moaning and grabbing on to his hair mindlessly as she utterly lost herself. She'd never felt anything like it before, never had a man bury his face between her legs and seem to _love_ it as much as he was, making hungry noises and clutching her hips hard enough to bruise as he blew her mind.

Then she accidentally yanked considerably hard on his hair, and he pulled off and _moaned_ in a way that made her entire body shudder. He made eye contact with her and sucked in a few heavy breaths before diving back in, this time with no restraint as he strove to make her lose her mind.

It was too much, too good, and she hadn't known anything could ever feel like that. Hurtling off the edge with a gasp that burned her lungs and a moan that probably woke the neighbors, her body arched and she pulled painfully hard on his hair again, the whole world and everything in it ceasing to exist for one long and beautiful and _badly_ needed moment.

It left her shaking and overwhelmed, but he didn't stop easing her back down until her breathing had evened and her mind returned to her. He left kisses along her inner thighs and all around, hands easing up and down her hips and sides, pulling her back down to earth until she opened her eyes and looked down at him in a mixture of disbelief and utter satisfaction.

"Good?" he asked, though the smug grin on his face gave away the fact that he knew full well how _good_ it had been.

"That was... the best thing I've ever felt," she said with full and complete honesty, still breathing hard.

He smirked and then slowly, surprisingly gracefully, got to his feet in front of the bed. "Well, I'm not done with you yet."

She wasn't done with him yet, either. She gathered enough strength to sit up as he finally slipped off his boxer briefs, and she scooted forward to sit on the edge of the bed before he could crawl back on it. She looked up at him, a hint of shyness still in her heated eyes, and he maintained eye contact with her even as she reached out and took him gently in her right hand.

She looked away only to lay her eyes on what was directly in front of them, watching her hand move up and down and the way that his lower abdomen clenched a little as her grip grew more firm. She licked her lips, taking a deep breath and peeking up at him one more time before leaning forward and running her tongue over his tip.

He cursed under his breath, brushing her hair out of her face and then holding it gently behind her head, eyes fixed on her and not wanting to miss a second of what she was doing. He bit his lip as she continued to play around with her tongue and her hand, just teasing really, and he had no idea how someone could look so innocent and so filthy at the same time. He might have been an entirely new experience for her, but she was the same for him in more ways than she could have known.

He moaned when she finally dropped the teasing act and took him in her mouth, closing his eyes helplessly and tightening his grip on her hair. She went slow but not too slow, and he could tell how experienced she was in how she moved and how she used her tongue. The thought made him angry, because while she was clearly used to doing this, she wasn't used to having the favor returned. And that, in his opinion, was an unforgivable sin on the part of her ex.

Summer, meanwhile, was too busy enjoying herself to let her thoughts drift anywhere except to the man in front of her. He was responsive, _so responsive_ , from the sounds he was making to the way his fingers tightened in her hair, and _God_ she loved it. She'd never enjoyed doing this particular thing so much before, not once, and it was all because he had no hesitation in letting her know how much he was enjoying it himself.

" _Fuck_ ," he groaned, free hand passing over her cheek to her shoulder, then down to her chest where he softly groped her before moving back up and gripping her shoulder. "You gotta stop, baby, I'm gonna..."

She made a small noise of displeasure, as much as she could, and kept going, even moving faster and deeper. He groaned low and fevered in response, gripping her a little harder. "Come on, stop, _please_. Wanna fuck you, baby."

With the help of those words and a gentle nudge from his hands, she finally pulled off and released him, breathing hard and jaw aching just a little bit. She looked up at him and found him staring down at her with a ravenous look, and the next thing she knew his lips were on hers and he was pushing her back down on the bed, laying her head down on the pillows and kissing the hell out of her.

It was a hot, furious tangle of mouths and limbs, full of neediness and passion until Bucky broke away to lean over her and blindly grope for the table next to his bed. He ripped open the top drawer and knocked over a clock, remote, and the lamp sitting there in the process, making them both crack up laughing as he finally found what he had been looking for and returned to her. She was still giggling as he hovered over her and ripped the condom open with his teeth, grinning at her and then quickly getting the thing on, not wasting a second. Then his lips were back on hers, and she wrapped her legs around his hips in an open invitation.

"Ready?" he murmured, looking her in the eyes and checking just to be sure.

"Oh God, yes," she replied with a smile, and he smiled back before kissing her again, more gently than before, and then carefully pushing inside of her.

While he wasn't an ungodly size, he _was_ a little bigger than what she was used to, so it took her a moment to adjust to the difference. He could tell by the slight pinch in her features, and he distracted her with a kiss that all but consumed her. She relaxed and got lost in the kiss, the moment's worth of discomfort fading quickly as he began to slowly move with their kiss still unbroken.

"Sorry," he murmured against her lips once he could tell that the moment had passed and that she had adjusted to him. He might have also made a mental note to take pride in that, knowing that was another area in which he had the edge on her ex.

"Don't be," she grinned, one hand in his hair and the other on his back. "You feel good."

"Yeah?" he smirked a little breathlessly, moving a little faster and a little deeper, earning a sigh in return. She nodded and closed her eyes, and he kissed her cheek before murmuring in her ear, "So do you."

Somehow, it didn't feel like sleeping with a stranger. It felt strangely right, like they fit in ways she'd never quite experienced before, and best of all, he really _did_ feel good. The deeper he went the better it felt, and every little change in speed and angles made her gasp in surprise because he made it better every time. And all the while his mouth never left her, either on her lips or her neck or her shoulder, leaving new little marks in his wake and breathing out low moans against her skin. It was perfect, too good for words, but it got even better from there.

In the blink of an eye, he rolled them over and suddenly she was on top of him. She braced her hands on his shoulders and looked down at him in surprise, and he grinned up at her wickedly and grasped her hips pointedly. "Ride me, baby."

Biting her lip and grinning back, she did as he said without a second thought. She felt a little self conscious at first, staying down close to him and starting slow, but the more that she moved and the more noises that left his lips, the more confident she grew. Eventually, once she started feeling too good to care anymore, she sat up straight and started _really_ riding him, giving him quite the show in the process.

He _loved_ it. He watched her like he couldn't bear to tear his eyes away, bringing his hands up to play with her breasts as she found the perfect angle for herself and lost all inhibition as she chased her pleasure. She knew she was being loud but she didn't care, and the fact that she had something to be loud _about_ was more exhilarating than she could even fathom.

She was getting unbearably close to losing her mind when he sat up, unable to simply lay back and watch anymore, and he kissed her furiously as they rocked together and clung to each other with everything they had. The feel of him pressed against her, his mouth hungrily taking hers and hands all over her and the sounds he was making brought her to the tipping point, and she broke away from their kiss to throw her head back and moan like she never had before.

He watched her in nothing short of awe, thanking the very universe itself that their paths had crossed and led them here on this night. Feeling her clench around him and flutter with the pleasure taking her over, he buried his face in her neck and sunk his teeth into her skin as he followed her off the edge in an end more spectacular than any other in recent memory. He felt it wrack through his entire body, and it was exactly the kind of earth-shattering release that he had needed for a _long_ time.

In the quiet moments that followed, they both simply melted in each other's arms and lost track of time. Still drunk and now exhausted beyond words, Summer ended up under his blanket and in his arms, cradled to his chest as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and held her close. It was more than she expected from a one night stand, but then again, they weren't exactly the typical story.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, as tired as she was but not quite ready to close his eyes yet.

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah. _Much_ better."

He chuckled and brushed another kiss against her forehead. Then he shifted a little and groaned uncomfortably as he reached with his free hand and pulled out a lump from under his back that had been digging into it since he'd laid them both down.

The lump ended up being her phone. Summer cracked open her eyes just in time to watch him unlock the phone and pull up the camera one last time.

"Smile," he told her, snapping a dark photo of them laying there in each other's arms, wearing lazy smiles that reeked of the satisfaction they shared. Then he went to her messages, composing another text to Mark that consisted of the picture followed by one simple string of words: _now we're even_. He signed the message with his name and handed the phone back to Summer, once again letting her choose to hit send or delete it.

She didn't even think twice. She hit the send button and then dropped her phone somewhere on the bed, forgetting all about it and about her ex as she snuggled closer to Bucky and closed her eyes.

"Night, doll," he yawned softly, curling his arm around her a little more tightly and closing his own eyes.

"Night, Bucky," she smiled back, feeling truly at peace for the first time not just in the last week but a much longer span of time than just that.

Whatever they woke up to, whatever the next day would bring, she didn't have a single care for it in that moment. She felt good for a change, safe and content too, and if this was where fate had brought her after a week of sheer hell... maybe there was still hope for her - and for him - yet.


End file.
